Page 96 of Sundowners
The other three of us who had been initiated stumbled to our feet and ran for the dormitory only to be confronted by Stephen’s lackey.
“What is going on?” I shouted.
“We are the bringers of change. Join us or die.”
I started to question him, but Stephen returned, held up a hand and then ordered his followers to act. One of the men grabbed the last initiate and slit his throat, which sent the rest of us running.
Muse. Had she escaped? I had to know, couldn’t just leave her. I continued on toward the dormitory, seeing Stephen and his followers take down one soul after another with the ceremonial knives. The Guardians were nowhere to be seen. When I got to the buildings, they were engulfed in flames, the other Learners crying for help as they burned to death. I kept to the tree line, out of sight, and that was when I saw her. I ran to her side, even though I knew it was useless. She was covered in blood, her eyes open and fixed. She’d almost made it out of the compound.
It took a split second for self-preservation to take over.
I ran into the woods, weakened from blood loss and going into shock. I ran and ran until the gray morning light allowed me to see that I wasn’t being followed. I cried my heart out there, feeling the absence of my fellow Learners’ essence. I couldn’t sense The Source either. Were they slaughtered along with the rest? Would I know? So many questions…where can I go? How will I survive? What is the point?
“Creed, this way.”
Rey whispered and gestured for me to move behind him. I’d been frozen in my spot by memories of the worst night of my very long life…
“Hey,” Vanessa whispered, waving her fingers in front of my face. “What’s wrong?”
“This is…they’re set up to do an initiation,” I whispered back. “We can’t let them—”
“It’s okay. We’ll stop them. Once they’re all set, we’ll move in.”
We crept closer to the site, and it was the worst déjà vue.
Only this time, the Guardians each held a knife to the throat of the four “initiates.”
Roman, Bernadette, and Emmanuel, as well as the woman they’d shown me a picture of, all stood in a line, waiting to make their sacrifice, dressed in black, their eyes dazed as if they were in a trance.
I brought my hand up to my mouth.
No. Please don’t let him be hurt. Don’t let any of them go through this.
Three Leaders moved to their places in the center, but they’d apparently had to improvise and were using a picnic table instead of the stone slab. They lit their candles and waited.
A rush of power rolled over me, spreading goose bumps along my flesh and sending tingles up my spine. I hadn’t felt that level of power for fifty years…
Stephen came forward, guiding The Source, who wore their red hood covering their face. Stephen held onto their arm and then stopped. He removed their hood and took his place amongst the Leaders.
The Source’s face was always a shock to behold, their ethereal beauty still made my heart flutter, but my terror at the potential catastrophe about to happen overruled any admiration I still had for the being.
The Source tipped their head back and raised their arms. “Blessed is the Goddess who is with us on this sacred night, and who has given unto us the new initiates. Come forward, Guardians.”
But immediately, their serene expression twisted in anger when they saw the knives.
“Stop that at once!”
They held out a hand and pushed it down, effectively causing all of the Guardians to drop their knives—and the cops their weapons.
“Shit,” Rey whispered as he bent to pick his up, only to find that it wouldn’t move. Neither would his leg that had the backup piece.
A magnetic field. Of course. The ley lines gave the Source more power on this special night, and now the cops had been rendered useless.
“We have spectators,” the Source said, further angered. “You interrupt a sacred ritual. Show yourselves.”
The cops were all stuck, but not me. I walked forward into the clearing while Vanessa and Rey whisper-shouted for me to stop.
They couldn’t help me now.
